The CFO Pipeline Has an Experience Problem—and an Appeal Problem

Robert Walters’ research suggests employers need to address both the demands of the top finance job and the opportunities available to people who might pursue it

For U.S. companies planning their next finance leadership transition, the question is not simply who has the technical credentials to become chief financial officer. It is also who wants the assignment. Research released by recruitment firm Robert Walters says 32% of finance professionals do not want to become a CFO, while 36% definitely do—a split that complicates any assumption that advancement naturally leads toward the top job.

Those figures describe different career intentions, not a shortage measured against open positions. The supplied research details do not identify the survey’s sample size, geographic coverage or fieldwork dates. American employers therefore should not read the percentages as a definitive measure of their domestic talent pool. They do, however, offer a framework for examining whether a company’s succession plans match employees’ ambitions and opportunities.

Work-life balance was the largest deterrent reported, cited by 49%, according to Robert Walters. The skills and experience required followed at 25%, while pressure and accountability registered 21%. These are distinct obstacles. A development program might help someone acquire missing experience, but that does not necessarily resolve concerns about the demands of the eventual position. Treating all reluctance as a training problem would miss that distinction.

The experience findings make a separate case for reviewing the route upward. Robert Walters says 47% of finance professionals believe their current role does not give them the experience necessary to become a CFO; 30% believe they are gaining it. The release does not establish how those responses overlap with respondents’ career preferences. It would be a mistake to assume everyone reporting an experience gap wants the top job.

Among capabilities respondents found hardest to build, board-level exposure and leading transformation accounted for 39%, compared with 16% for commercial strategy and 7% for AI and technology. The ordering is notable: the most prominent challenge concerns access to leadership situations, rather than technology alone. For an employer evaluating potential successors, the relevant question is whether promising candidates actually have opportunities to participate in the work expected of them later.

Andrew Powell, chief commercial officer at Robert Walters, argues that such preparation cannot be left until an appointment is imminent. “The skills that finance professionals find hardest to build are also some of the skills businesses expect from a CFO from day one. Board exposure and transformation experience take time to build, and they are difficult to replicate through formal training alone. Employers need to give promising finance leaders the chance to build that experience before they are considered for the top job.”

Respondents’ preferred preparation methods support that emphasis on workplace exposure. Mentoring from leaders drew 36%, cross-functional career moves 35%, broader responsibilities 22% and formal training 7%, the firm reports. Those preferences do not prove which approach produces better CFOs. They indicate what respondents want, and give employers a basis for asking whether existing development offerings are aligned with that demand.

The position’s appeal is not uniformly fading. Robert Walters says 56% believe the CFO role has become more attractive over the past five years, while 42% think it has become less attractive. Powell attributes the broader career proposition to responsibilities spanning strategy, transformation, business support functions and AI adoption. That is the recruiter’s interpretation of the role’s evolution, rather than an independently established explanation for respondents’ answers.

For U.S. finance leaders, the practical distinction is between making a job attractive and making candidates ready. The research suggests employers should examine both, without assuming that greater influence compensates for every concern or that strong performance in a current finance position supplies all the experience needed for the next one.